A brief mower history

The lawn mower was invented in 1830 in England by Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud in Gloucestershire.

The first motorised mowers appeared in the 1890s with both petrol and small steam engines. Steam power was impractical and was soon dropped in favour of the petrol engine. Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies introduced a petrol engined mower in 1902, and lead the market until the First World War.

After World war One there was a large growth in mower manufacture.

ATCO-- Charles H. Pugh Ltd.

ATCO mowers were unquestionably the Rolls Royce of cylinder mowers. No self respecting groundsman used anything else. From Villa Park to Wimbledon it was always an ATCO that cut the grass to striped perfection. With their dark green paintwork with gold lettering they also looked better than any other mower around. The 'by appointment' badge re-enforced the machines superiority and the excellence of Birmingham engineering.

ATCO left Birmingham in 1981 but thankfully they still survive. It's great testament to ATCO quality that many early mowers also still survive and are just as good today.  A link to the present day ATCO company can be found on the links page.

After the First World War One the company, who would become one of the best known and successful mower manufacturers, were ATCO  of Tilton Road, Aston, Birmingham who produced their first machine, the ATCO Standard in 1921. The name ATCO was taken from the Atlas Chain Company another part of Charles H. Pugh Ltd.

Charles Henry Pugh was born in 1840 in Newtown, Montgomery but he never lived long enough to see his first lawnmower. Atco's first mower was a 22 inch cut machine with a 269cc Villiers Mk 4 two stroke engine with a brass flywheel magneto costing £75. The frame was cast iron oval in section. Cast iron was used because the preferred supplier was unable to deliver the right components due to an industrial dispute in the foundry. The cast frames were very fragile and apparently many of these early machines broke during assembly, particularly when the frames were tightened.

Atco previously were best known for the manufacture of small items. During the First world war the company made armaments. At the cessation of war the company looked for new markets. One product was the Senspray carburettor which was used by Villiers. They also produced the Alfred Appleby Cycle Chain,  which was marketed as "The Best Cycle Chain In The World". Their mowers utilised a number of components already manufactured by the company, including the Senspray carburettor and their chains.

By 1926 annual production of mowers had accelerated to tens of thousands. Prices were cut and a complete range of sizes was available.

Between 1926 and 1935 the Atco standard range was launched using a malleable iron cast chassis which was produced by another Midland mower company, Qualcast.

In 1935 steel chassis mowers were introduced, reducing prices so that medium weight machines were now retailing at under £15.

In July 1939 an Atco training car with a  Villiers engine was launched  with the idea of improving road safety awareness through schools and colleges. It was built around a 1939 lawnmower with the blades removed. Production did not last long and at the outbreak of World War II, production was halted after 250 cars had been sold.

During World War Two part of the Hall Green Atco factory produced munitions.

After the war the Birmingham factory site grew four fold. Full time mower production and servicing heralded the beginning of a 'boom' period for domestic lawnmower manufacturers.

By 1951 several types of product from powered auto scythes to boat impellers had been introduced. The latter found extensive sales opportunities in the marsh-lands of the Far East.

In 1955 the famous Royal warrant was granted by Queen Elizabeth II for tractors and lawnmowers.

In 1965 Charles H Pugh Ltd. became part of the Qualcast Group.

In1964 the ATCO Royale, a prestigious sit behind lawnmower, was introduced.

In 1975 Lawnmower production moved from the West Midlands to the Stowmarket site of the Suffolk Iron Foundry (1920) Ltd. and the Birmingham site became the spare parts centre for the entire Qualcast organisation in the UK which was later renamed Serpar.

In 1981, in the early hours of November 5th, a fire destroyed the old Charles H Pugh Hall Green site and stock, resulting in its complete closure and move to East Anglia as Atco Ltd

We are interested to hear from anyone who worked at Atco or who sold Atco machines, the contact email address is on the home page at the bottom.